A fun twist on cheesecake in cupcake form!
Cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts, in fact if I could only have one dessert for the rest of my life I’d pick cheesecake. There are so many unique flavors that you can put into the luscious creamy base- from classic plain cheesecake to strawberry to chocolate to the many adventurous flavors at The Cheesecake Factory- I’ve never met a cheesecake I didn’t like!
I was craving cheesecake but not all of the work that comes with baking a full size one. From the water bath to the hours of chilling in the fridge, and then having a full size cheesecake tempting me in the fridge, I didn’t want all that. So I whipped up this creation, capturing the flavor of strawberry cheesecake with the ease of a quick cupcake recipe. Now you too can have the delicious light strawberry cheesecake flavor in less time!
Equipment Needed
- Cupcake Pan & Paper liners: A cupcake pan (also called muffin tin) which holds 6 cupcakes.
- OR 6 Silicon Cupcake Liners and baking sheet: 6 Silicon cupcake liners which stand on their own and a baking sheet to put under them.
- Mixer: I use a 5qt Kitchen Aid stand mixer for all of my recipes. They can be made using a handheld mixer as well. I do not recommend making this recipe without a mixer as we need the butter to cream into the dry ingredients and be equally distributed.
- Scale: the most accurate method of measuring
Ingredients
Cake Flour
- I recommend using cake flour for this recipe- it has less protein that all purpose flour and gives your cakes a lighter and fluffier texture. You can find cake flour in most grocery stores in the baking aisle, I recommend King Arthur brand.
- If you don’t have cake flour on hand- you can make a substitute with all purpose flour and cornstarch sifted together. Measure 1 cups AP flour, remove 2 tablespoons of flour, add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Sift twice.
Sour Cream
- Sour cream adds extra moisture to these cupcakes, to make them extra delicious. Don’t skip this one!
Egg Whites
- In this recipe we use just the whites of two eggs. This makes the cake light and fluffy with just the leavening power of the egg white.
- The recipe calls for room temperature egg whites- separate the eggs when they are cold from the fridge and then let the egg whites come up to room temperature. It is much more difficult to separate room temperature eggs than cold eggs.
- You’ll notice the ingredient list asks for these to be in two separate bowls, this is because you will put in one egg white at a time to ensure it gets fully incorporated into the batter. It’s not the end of the world if you crack both into the same bowl, you’ll just have to pour about half the liquid into the mixer at a time.
Tips & Tricks
Measuring
- The most accurate way to measure while baking is to use a scale to bake by weight. It sounds intimidating but it’s not it’s actually easier than measuring with cups. I use this OXO scale – the display pulls out so you can use a large container and still see the screen.
- I know not all bakers use a scale, and particularly new or not frequent bakers who are likely interested in small batches, so I do provide measurements in US cups. Keep in mind especially for flour you should scoop flour with a spoon into the measuring cup and level it with a knife. Do not use the measuring cup as the scope, this compacts the flour and you will end up with too much flour which changes the texture of the final result.
Reverse Creaming Method
- This recipe uses the reverse creaming method rather than traditional creaming butter and sugar together. I find that the quantity of butter and sugar in small batch recipes is too small for the bowl of my mixer, it gets pushed out to the sides of the bowl quickly and requires a lot more scraping down of the sides versus a full sized batch.
- For reverse creaming you mix the dry ingredients and then add the butter in small chunks, mixing until you create a sandy texture with the butter broken up into evenly sized pieces. Scrape down the bowl and then with the mixer on low pour in the liquids (oil, sour cream & vanilla), as these mix in the texture will look clumpy but just keep going and it will work itself out. Once the liquids are incorporated, scrape down the bowl again and with the mixer on low add in 1 of the egg whites, continue mixing until it is fully absorbed. Repeat with the second egg white- by this step the mixture will be smooth.
How to Make Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes
For the Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 325°F convection setting (or 350°F standard)
- Prepare your cupcake tray by adding paper liners or placing 6 silicon cupcake liners on top of a baking sheet
- Start by making the graham cracker crust that gives cheesecake it’s buttery taste. Mix the melted butter and sugar into the graham cracker crumbs until a sandy texture, press graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner and bake for 5 mins until it starts to turn golden brown. and let cool
- While the graham cracker crusts cools completely, mix the cake batter:
- Measure the sour cream, canola oil and vanilla extract into a bowl and set aside
- In the bowl of the stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the dry ingredients together: cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- With the mixer on low, add the room temperature butter in small pieces to the dry ingredient mixer. Keep the mixer running until you create a sandy texture with the butter broken up into evenly sized pieces, about 2 and half minutes.
- Scrape down the bowl
- With the mixer on medium, slowly pour in the liquids mixture. The batter will look lumpy at this point, don’t worry just keep mixing until it is evenly combined.
- Scrape down the bowl, ensuring there are no clumps of flour stuck at the bottom of the bowl
- Add 1 egg white and mix on low until it is fully absorbed, about 1 minute
- Scrape down the bowl
- Add the second egg white and mix until it is fully absorbed
- Bake for 30 minutes at 325°F convection setting (or 350°F standard), until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
- Cool on a cooling rack for 15 minutes before removing from pan and then cool completely before filling & frosting- about 1 hour
Cheesecake filling
- This filling is very easy! If you have a cheesecake craving and can’t wait to bake cupcakes, this is a good stand in of a creamy cheesecake flavored dip- try it with shortbread cookies or ice cream cone pieces.
- Using a spoon, mix softened cream cheese, sugar, sour cream and vanilla together. This will be a thick consistency.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- In the bowl of a mixer, combine softened cream cheese and butter, mixing until throughougly combined
- Add vanilla and a pinch of salt
- Gradually add the powdered sugar, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed
- Add the strawberry preserves and mix to combine, ensuring it is evenly distributed
Assembly
- When the cupcakes have fully cooled, cut out a hole in the top of each cupcake, you can use the back end of a piping tip, a specific cupcake corer tool or just a spoon. The goal is to have a hole about ¼ of the way down into the top of the cupcake so you can add the filling. (You do not need the cupcake centers so go ahead and eat them)
- Add a spoonful of the cheesecake filling to each of the holes in the cupcakes
- Pipe strawberry cream cheese frosting onto each of the cupcakes
- Enjoy!
Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes
A fun twist on cheesecake, a cupcake filled with sweetened cream cheese filling and topped with strawberry cream cheese frosting, for a light bright cheesecake flavor.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes with graham cracker crust
- 60 g gramhan cracker crumbs
- 30 g butter (melted)
- 18 g Granulated Sugar
- 59 g Sour Cream (room temperature, 1/4 cup + 3/4 teaspoon)
- 18 g Canola Oil (1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon)
- 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 81 g Cake Flour (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons)
- 97 g Granulated Sugar (1/2 cup MINUS 2 teaspoons)
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 51 g Unsalted Butter (room temperature, 1/4 cup MINUS 1/2 teaspoon)
- 2 Egg Whites (room temperature, in separate bowls)
- Cheesecake filling
- 50 g Cream Cheese (room temperature)
- 6 g Granulated Sugar
- 3 g Sour Cream (room temperature)
- 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 80 g Cream Cheese
- 40 g Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Pinch of Salt
- 110 g Powdered Sugar
- 30 g Strawberry Preserves/Jam
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 325°F convection setting (or 350°F standard)
- Prepare your cupcake tray by adding paper liners or placing 6 silicon cupcake liners on top of a baking sheet
- Mix the melted butter and sugar into the graham cracker crumbs until a sandy texture
- Press graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner
- Bake for 5 mins and let cool completely
- While the graham cracker crusts cool, mix the cake batter:
- Measure the sour cream, canola oil and vanilla extract into a bowl and set aside
- In the bowl of the stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the dry ingredients together: cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt
- With the mixer on low, add the room temperature butter in small pieces to the dry ingredient mixer. Keep the mixer running until you create a sandy texture with the butter broken up into evenly sized pieces, about 2 and half minutes.
- Scrape down the bowl
- With the mixer on medium, slowly pour in the liquids mixture. The batter will look lumpy at this point, keep mixing until it is evenly combined.
- Scrape down the bowl, ensuring there are no clumps of flour stuck at the bottom of the bowl
- Add 1 egg white and mix on low until it is fully absorbed, about 1 minute
- Scrape down the bowl
- Add the second egg white and mix until it is fully absorbed
- Bake for 30 minutes at 325°F convection setting (or 350°F standard), until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
- Cool on a cooling rack for 15 minutes before removing from pan and then cool completely before filling & frosting- about 1 hour
Cheesecake Filling
- Using a spoon, mix softened cream cheese, sugar, sour cream and vanilla together.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- In the bowl of a mixer, combine softened cream cheese and butter, mixing until throughougly combined
- Add vanilla and a pinch of salt
- Gradually add the powdered sugar, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed
- Add the strawberry preserves and mix to combine, ensuring it is evenly distributed
Assembly
- When the cupcakes have fully cooled, cut out a hole in the top of each cupcake, you can use the back end of a piping tip, a specific cupcake corer tool or just a spoon. The goal is to have a hole about ¼ of the way down into the top of the cupcake so you can add the filling. (You do not need the cupcake centers so go ahead and eat them)
- Add a spoonful of the cheesecake filling to each of the holes in the cupcakes
- Pipe strawberry cream cheese frosting onto each of the cupcakes
- Enjoy!
Love this recipe! Can’t wait to try it:)